I've been thinking about this topic a lot. I know it's a nerdy thing to be thinking about in my spare time, but I really have.
I’ve been jumping between Obsidian and Logseq a lot lately and one has folders, Obsidian, and one does not, Logseq. When using Logseq I didn’t realize how much I actually missed my folders from Obsidian.
The fancier, newer method seems to be to put all your files in one big folder and then use queries, tags, and linking to surface the files that you want.
I used to think that method was best, but after having used Obsidian for a while and become super accustomed to a folder structure, I find that I really miss my folders when jumping around to other apps that don’t have folders like Logseq or Roam or others.
So why are folders good? That seems super 2008.
Well, yeah, it is. Folders used to be all the rage with note-taking apps. There were an endless amount of blog posts with people showing their Evernote folder (notebook) structures and why it works for them. Many of them are really great, but deep down I think a lot of wish that there was a better way.
What if we didn't actually need folders?
That's where modern PKM's come in. Now with bi-directional linking, inline queries, advanced queries, backlinks, etc, we don't have to rely on such an archaic way of storing files.
Think of it like parking a car:
The old way is you find a spot in a parking deck and remember where you parked it. When you want your car, you remember where you parked it and go get it.
The modern way is that you drop it off with the valet and they park it for you. You don't care where it's parked, you don't know where it's parked, it isn't your problem. When you want your car, you give the ticket to the valet and he brings your car to you.
Modern apps are like dropping your notes off with the valet and then not worrying about it. Nice, right?
Ok, it sounds like I'm making a strong case against folders...so why use folders?
It's true that with modern apps we don't need folders.
But I love my folders. Here’s 3 reasons why I love folders:
out of sight, out of mind - folders keeps topics top of mind
future convenience/discoverability - no matter what happens, my notes are always in folders on my computer
folders are a backup sorting mechanism - you can still connect your notes however you want, but now you also can fall back on folders.
Out of sight, out of mind.
I have a huge tendency to forget about things if I don't see them. So if I store some notes away in Logseq or Roam and it's just gone, well, if I didn't create a proper way of rediscovering that note then I'm going to forget about it.
But with my folders, once I make a note I can throw it in the appropriate folder and it has a much higher chance of being seen again because it's always on the left sidebar within my sight. I see the different folders all right there.
The folders act as reminders of things I should be thinking about.
But isn't it a lot easier to just make a note and add your connections and forget about it? It seems a lot easier than trying to come up with a complicated folder system. Yeah, maybe. But if you don't use folders then you still have to have a complicated system of connecting your notes because if you don't then there's a high likelihood that you can forget about that note as it fades off into the ether.
James Clear's first rule of making a habit is to make it obvious.
Folders make my notes more obvious. Does that make sense? I can see the Capture folder and then I can randomly peruse it occasionally and just see what I have in there. Sure, I can do that with queries, but folders are like pre-made queries that are always there and are often easier to scroll through, depending on the app.
Folders are like pre-made queries that are always there.
Ok, I'll concede that you could make a dashboard type of page that has some pre-made queries that pulls pages in based on category or what not. Those are definitely handy to have.
But a dashboard page doesn't address my second main reason for using folders…
Future Convenience/Discoverability
Let me explain. Bear with me on this one, it's going to get weird.
Let's say something happens and I stop taking notes for a while. And 25 years into the future Obsidian dies off for some bizarre reason...zombie apocalypse or something and somehow it really affected Obsidian (I didn't say this made sense, just bear with me). And let's say I stumble across my notes on some USB-C drive that I can still plug in to some computer that has an ancient USB-C port on it. And I start looking for a note I took about how to make an underground shelter. Since I had been storing all my notes in folders, it would be insanely easy for me to go to the right folder and find the right note.
Ok, but couldn't I just do a search? Maybe. But what if you forgot what it was titled or any keywords you may have had in it? And what if you didn't have great search available?
Also, if I go to the folder that has that note I was looking for, I may also stumble upon notes that are similar, like my note about how to turn urine into clean drinking water or how to detect if someone in your party is slowly turning into a zombie.
Serendipity exists in the folder structure.
Folders as Backup Query System
Since you can use queries to find notes that you want, what happens if an app doesn’t have queries or what if you don’t want to tag all your notes?
Folders can act a lot like a simplified query system.
In a way that’s what folders are: a collection of like notes. What are queries? A way to find a collection of like notes that match a parameter you set.
And with folders you can still have a crazy tagging/connecting system as well and at that point whether a note is in the right folder doesn’t become a big issue.
Conclusion
Now, this is purely a subjective thing. It really depends on the person. I have grown to like my folders. When I first started out with Roam I absolutely loved not having to worry about folders and sure, not having to think about folders can take a burden off of some people that want to take notes. But once I started exporting my Roam notes to other apps and tried finding certain notes, I ended up searching for a while before I found certain notes. It was a mess of notes.
But with Obsidian I have all my notes in perfect little folders. It's quite nice.
I really like folders. It's one reason why I sometimes like Raindrop over MyMind. MyMind tags everything I put in it, but I often forget what my tags are. With Raindrop everything I save goes to a specific section. I can still use tags, but I also can jump to a section and scroll.
Folders just give me a certain amount of structure that I really crave. Maybe it's because I'm ADHD, maybe it's because I just like seeing the emojis on the side. Who knows. But it works.
The great thing is that even if I have a note that fits in to multiple folders, it's not much of an issue now because I can still use all the modern ways of connecting notes.
So what modern apps uses folders?
Obsidian
RemNote
NotePlan
Craft
I'm sure there are quite a few more, but those are the ones I will use that come to mind.
Notable Mention: Bear.
I've been pretty critical of Bear since their 2.0 has been in beta since the Carter administration, but their tag system is fantastic. Being able to add a tag like 'article/health' and also add 'article/science' to the same note allows it to exist in two different "folders". It's a fantastic system. I can't wait to see what Bear does when 2.0 gets released sometime in the next 5 years (sorry, I had to add one more at the end).
To recap:
out of sight, out of mind - folders keeps topics top of mind
future convenience/discoverability - no matter what happens, my notes are always in folders on my computer
folders are a backup sorting mechanism - you can still connect your notes however you want, but now you also can fall back on folders.
Hopefully this was a fairly short, but good, defense of folders. Whether you use folders or not doesn't matter. There's no wrong or right way to do things. It's just whatever works for you.
Extra: Folder Structure
Ok so what if someone wants to start out with folders. What should they do?
Here's a few tips I have for getting started using folders.
Don't get too attached to your first folder setup.
I tried the PARA method and honestly, it just didn't work for me. But I tried it. And then I tried some other method I came up with where everything was only in one of two different folders. That didn't work either.
Finally I landed on a system where I have quite a few folders, but it works. It's ok to have a lot of folders if it works for you.
But don't get too attached to your first system, it will likely change.
Be patient. Your folders will evolve over time.
Similar point to the first one, but think of folders like a sculpture: you will chip away at it a little bit at a time until eventually you arrive at what you love. It takes time, but you'll get there. Have patience.
Try different systems.
My favorite is the Johnny Decimal system. What I have not is a very lite version of that. Try that out. Try out PARA. Make up your own system.
Give important topics their own folders.
This is a big one for me. Things that I think are important, I give them their own folders. For me this is:
online courses I take
Readwise
Work (Perimeter)
My son and things related to his hospital bills and medications
Journal
Those are just a few. But things that are important to you that you want to see often, give them a folder.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for this! I'm really struggling with the setup/structure of my own PKM. I'm a school principal with some side hustles going too, and I just haven't been able to land on the right mixture of tools for notes, filing, content capture, bookmark management, task management, etc. Found you on @twitter and interested in learning more about PKM.